Stung by rising gasoline and food prices, Americans are finding creative ways to cut costs on routine items like groceries and clothing, forcing retailers, restaurants and manufacturers to decode the tastes of a suddenly thrifty public.<\/p>\n
Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives, to eat in instead of dining out and to fly at unusual hours to shave dollars off airfares.<\/p>\n
Though seemingly small, the daily trade-offs they are making \u201d\u201d more pasta and less red meat, more video rentals and fewer movie tickets \u201d\u201d amount to an important shift in consumer behavior.<\/p>\n
In Ohio, Holly Levitsky is replacing the Lucky Charms cereal in her kitchen with Millville Marshmallows and Stars, a less expensive store brand. In New Hampshire, George Goulet is no longer booking hotel rooms at the Hilton, favoring the lower-cost Hampton Inn. And in Michigan, Jennifer Olden is buying Gain laundry detergent instead of the full-price Tide.<\/p>\n
Behind the belt-tightening \u201d\u201d and brand-swapping \u201d\u201d is the collision of several economic forces that are pinching people\u2019s budgets or, at least, leaving them in lit-tle mood to splurge.<\/p>\n